Water-heater.



L. D. LOVEKIN.

WATER HEATER. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 23, 1912.

Patented Aug. 18, 19M

IN VEN TOR WITNESSES 96 ZJ A TTORNE Y LUTHER D. LVEKIN, 0F PHILADELPHA, PENNSYLVANIA.

warns-HEATER.

incassa.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. f8, 39nd.

Application filed November 23, 1912. Serial No. 733,033.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, LUTHER D. LovEKIN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in the city and county of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful improvement in Tater-Heaters, of which the following is a true and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof.

My present invention relates to water heaters and boilers, and the primary object of the invention is to provide an improved gas fired heater for heating water for domestic purposes, by what is commonly known as the storage system, as distinguished from the well known instantaneous hot water heating system.

More specifically, my invention has for its object to provide a heater characterized by its inherent simplicity and low cost of construction, and by the fact that it contains a minimum number of parts apt to get ont of order from corrosion or otherwise, and by the fact that it contains no internal pipes liable to become foul.

The instantaneous hot water heaters, while in general use, are open to certain important practical objections, which have long been clearly recognized. For one thing, such a heater requires large gas fittings, in order that the heating may proceed with the proper rapidity, and when a number of such heaters are connected to the same gas supply pipe, this pipe must be considerably larger, to avoid an unsatisfactory drop in pressure when several of the heaters are simultaneously in operation, than the total amount of the gas would otherwise necessitate. An instantaneous water heater is also materially more expensive in rst cost than -a storage system heater adapted to supply the same demand for hot water. Notwithstanding these distinct and clearly recognized objections, the instantaneous heating system has heretofore been largely preferred to the storage system, because of the substantially greater eficiency in gas consumption of the instantaneous system heaters as compared with the storage system heaters as these have heretofore been constructed.

I have been able, and my present invention consists of features of construction and arrangement by which I accomplish this, to provide a gas fired storage system heater which, while possessing the characteristic advantages of simplicity and low cost of and forming a part of this specication.`

For a better understanding of my invention, however, and the advantages possesed by it, reference should be had to the accompanymg drawings and descriptive matter in which l have illustrated and described various .forms of apparatus embodying my inventlon.

Of the drawings: Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of apreferred form of water heater; and Fig. 2 is a partial sectional plan taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l.

In the drawings, A represents the tubular shell of a water heater suitable for domestic use. The upper end of the shell A is closed by the end member A. The latter is formed with a central flanged aperture, in which is riveted or otherwise suitably secured, the upper end of a tubular member comprising an upper corrugated section B and a lower uncorrugated section C. The sect-ion B, which is substantially smaller in diameter than the shell A and is centrally disposed in the latter, has its lower end passed through an aperture in the upper end of and secured to the section C. The body portion of the section C is substantially larger in diameter than the section B, and at its lower end the section C is expanded to provide a flange C which fits against the inner wall of the shell A, and is secured to the latter.

The annular space D inclosed by the shell A and surrounding the central tubular member, forms the water space of the heater proper, and D and D2 represent the water inlet and water outlet thereof. Below the lower end of the tubular member is located the gas burner F, which, preferably, as shown, is surrounded by the lower portion of the shell A, the latter being provided with suitable openings, not shown, for the admission of air to support combustion, and being provided with a door A2, normally held by a spring hinge A3 in the position in which it closes the doorway through which/the main burner F, or a pilot burner, may be ignited. The space E inclosed by the section C'forms the main combustion chamber of the heater and the section B serves as a flue for conveying the gas products of combustion out of the combustion chamber. To delay the pas- 'sage of the hot products of combustion diameter of the section B. Advant'ageouslyI the section B is turned in and u at its lower end to provide a channel B 1n which the moisture depositing in the inner wall of the flue and running down the latter may collect. Surrounding the central tubular member but separated thereffom by an annular space H of substantially uniform thickness, is a tubular member H, which preferably is 'formed of copper and extends from .a few inches above the bottom of the space E to within afoot or so of the top of the chamber D. As shown, the member H is formed of cylindrical sections H and H2 and a conical connecting section H3. l

H4 represent supports secured to the lower end of the section H2, and H5 are brackets attached to the section H2 and serving to center the upper end of the member H. In the -case of a domestic heater of the ordinary dimensions, as for instance one in which the total depth of the chamber D is-fve feet, the

internal diameter of the shell A is thirteen inches, the external diameters of the sections B and C, respectively, are three and seven inches,` the internal diameter of the upper port-ion of themember H should be about four inches and the internal diameter of the lower and larger portion should be about eight inches.

The upper end of the iiue section B may be connected directly to the chimney, or where a maximum efficiency is desired, I connect it by the pipe I to the top of an economizer comprising a tubular shell J, inclosing a coil of pipe L, through which the water to be heated in the main'heater is passed to the water inlet D of the latter. A pipe M connected to the lower end of the economizerv J may run to a convenient chimney.

In operation, when the gas is ignited at .the burner F, the membervH causes a vigorous circulation of water to take place within the water space in the direction indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1. The water entering the annular space H freely at the lower end of the latter rapidly rises in temperature as it passes upward, and by reason of this rise in temperature, is caused to move rapidly to the upper end of the space H' where it has a free outlet into the water space D proper. The rapid flow of the water in the space H along the outer wall of the combustion chamber and flue increases the rate at which heat is abstracted by the water and hence adds to the efficiency of the apparatus. Furthermore, this circulation results in a practical uniformity of temperature in all parts of the water space, except for a small hot pocket in the upper end of the space D. This general uniformity in temperature is highly desirable, because it avoids fluctuations in t-he temperature of the water drawn 0H and also because it adds to the rapidity and eiiiciency with which the water absorbs heat by preventing any portion of the heating surface from being bathed by a stagnant or slow moving body of water at a high temperature, and hence unable to absorb heat from the heating surfaces as rapidly as would a cooler body of water. The small hot pocket at the ext-reme heater in comparison with other storage system heaters. of the same capacity, my heater has f shown an eiiciency of from eighty to eighty-five per cent. as-compared with an efficiency of from sixty to sixty-five per cent. in the case of the'older forms of storage system heaters. The retarder G by prolonging the path forthe hot products of combustio-n is a factor, though a minorl factor, in the increased efficiency which I obtain with the heater shown. 'It will be observed that there are Aseveral times the number of corrugations in a given length of the tube B as there are turns of t-he helix into which the bar Gr is twisted in a corresponding length of said bar. .In consequence the heating Huid passing through the tube B is caused to flow along a generally spiral path by the retarder (i. The fluid is thus continually impelled by centrifugal force against the ywall of the tube and this materially augments the effect of the corrugations of the'tube B in breaking up the st-ream lines, and thereby materially increases the effectiveness of the heat transfer between the fluid and the tube. The economizer J, which may or may not be employed, when used adds to the efficiency of the apparatus by abstracting otherwise waste heat from the hot gases after they leave the of the member H may be slightly less than where the members are plain cylinders. The use of such corrugated members adds somewhat to the eiciency of the heater by breaking up the ascending stream of water passing through the space H but the eect Aof such corrugations is substantially less marked where the member H is employed thtn it would be if the member H was omitte While in accordance with the provisions of the statutes I have illustrated and described the best forms of my invention now known to me, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be made in the form of the apparatus disclosed without departing from the spirit of my invention, and that under some conditions certain features of my invention may be used without a corresponding use of other features.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. In a water heater of the kind specified, the combination of a tubular part enlarged at its lower end and serving as a combustion chamber and flue, a tubular shell surrounding the first mentioned part and connected to the ends of the later to form a water chamber, and a tubular member located within said water sp ace and comprising a large diameter portion surrounding the enlarged lower end of said tubular part and a portion of smaller diameter surrounding the upper portion of said part, said member being spaced away from the lower end wall of the water space a distance suiiicient to permit a free flow of water into the annular circulating passage between said tubular part and said tubular member and being spaced away from. the upper end of said space a distance somewhat greater than the rst mentioned distance whereby a hot pocket is formed in said space above the upper end of said tubular member.

2. In a water heater of the kind speciied, the combination of a tubular part enlarged at its lower end and having a smaller upper corrugated portion, said part .serving as a combustion chamber and flue', a tubular shell surrounding the irst mentioned member and connected to the vends of the latter to form a water chamber, a tubular member located within said water space and comprising a large diameter portion surrounding the enlarged lower end of said tubular part and a portion of smaller diameter surrounding the upper portion of said part, said member being spaced away from the lower end wall of the water space a distance suiicient to permit a free flow of water into the annular circulating passage between said tubular part and said tubular member and being spaced away from the upper end otY said space a distance somewhat greater than the first mentioned distance whereby a hot pocket is formed in said space above the upper end of said tubular member, and a spiral retarder disposed in the smaller upper portion of said tubular part and having fewer turns per unit of length than there are corrugations in a corresponding length of the corrugated portion of said tubular part.

3.. In combination, a corrugated tube and means for augmenting the transfer of heat between said tube and a duid iowing through the latter, comprising an element axially disposed in said tube and adapted to give the fluid passing through said tube a tendency to follow a spiral path comprising a smaller number of turns than there are corrugations in said tube.

LUTHER D. LOVEKIN.

Witnesses:

D.v STEWART, ARNOLD KA'rz. 

